Gray: Switches made for run defense

Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray said that moving Karl Klug and Scott Solomon to new positions was done with the intent of bettering the run defense.

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound Klug posted 10.5 sacks in his first two seasons at defensive tackle. But as a comparatively light tackle, he’s been moved to end.

“Klug had played base end at Iowa, so we’re kind of getting to where we can stop the run with big guys,” Gray said. “We’ve got Ropati (Pitoitua), we’ve got Klug, we’ve got (Sammie) Hill, we’ve got (Jurrell Casey) in there. Then sometimes you’ll see three D-linemen and Casey won’t be in there.

“So we may have three big guys that are 6-5 or taller, and heavier. So don’t panic when you see that. It doesn’t mean we’re not trying to get after the passer. We’re just trying to stop the run.”

The 6-3, 262-pound Solomon played sporadically as a rookie defensive end last year and might get more opportunity as a strong side linebacker.

“I think it’s fair for us to see if we can get more out of him. I like his athletic ability. He’s done a great job at defensive end, but can you play ‘backer? Can you play (strong side linebacker)?” Gray said. “Or what about if we’ve got (Akeem) Ayers on one side and Solomon on another? Are you strong enough to hold the edge? I think he’s done that as a defensive end, so can you do it standing up? Now we become a whole lot better because you can’t run to one side.”